JETS: Gang Green has a full-blown QB controversy on its hands

EAST RUTHERFORD — After 12 games of the Tim Tebow circus, the Jets finally have a legitimate quarterback controversy, with all three on the roster seemingly in the running.

Not that many of the 79,088 fans who witnessed Greg McElroy’s winning touchdown drive Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals would agree. They made their preference for him abundantly clear as soon as McElroy began warming up on the sidelines, chanting “Mc-El-Roy!” throughout the game.

After the game, however, coach Rex Ryan was unsurprisingly noncommittal in naming a starter going forward.

“I’ll let you guys know who the quarterback is going to be when I’m ready to,” he said after the game.

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A seventh-round pick in 2011, the major knock against McElroy coming into the NFL concerned his lack of arm strength. After injuring his thumb last September, however, McElroy said he was able to focus on improving his hand strength, which has translated into more velocity on his throws.

“Hand-grip strength exercises,” McElroy said about his offseason regimen. “Most people don’t know that arm strength is really in your core and in your grip strength. I’m not known for huge hands, so I had to focus on strengthening the muscles within.”

His coach has certainly seen the difference.

“I never knew that a guy could improve his arm strength during the offseason the way that Greg did,” Ryan said.

Ryan has shown a strong loyalty to Sanchez in the past, refusing to pull him in recent bad losses to the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins. Prior to Sunday afternoon, Ryan had repeatedly insisted that Sanchez “gave the team the best chance to win.”

Sanchez didn’t seem to know much more than the media after the game.

“I have no idea,” he said.

After the many games Sanchez has struggled this season, some members of the media found it odd that Ryan only pulled his starter in a game in which Tebow was inactive with a pair of broken ribs — perhaps fearing the inevitable flood of national attention such a move would cause.

All season long, however, Ryan has maintained that Tebow is the backup quarterback. If Ryan has decided to finally pull the plug on Sanchez, it’s unclear why Ryan would suddenly decide McElroy was the better quarterback after seeing both in practice all season.

It’s also worth noting that the Jets next game will be in Jacksonville — Tebow’s hometown.

In any event, Ryan wasn’t tipping his hand Sunday.

“I have confidence in Mark, I have confidence in Greg, and I have confidence in Tim,” he said, shrugging.